Another group that opposes the policy published a piece saying if the author had chosen to participate in women's athletics, he would have broken almost every record in the book, adding that wouldn't be fair to young female athletes.

“We all know that youth who are engaged in extracurricular activities do better in employment and community,” OutFront Associate Director of trans organizing Roxanne Anderson told the Morrison County Record. “They are validated; that always feels good.”

This policy would be a first for Minnesota, but 32 other states and the NCAA all have some type of policy or procedure for determining transgender students’ eligibility to participate in sports, reports say.

The draft of the proposed guidelines would allow student athletes to play for the team that matches the gender they identify with, so long as they have documentation from a physician that identifies them as transgender, and provide information about any treatment they're undergoing to change their identity.

The MSHSL was scheduled to vote on the policy in October, but it decided to hold off until its December meeting so board members could have more time to study the policy to make sure they get it right.